Barcelona secure new shirt deal for next season

Lionel Messi and the rest of his Barcelona teammates will be sporting a new shirt sponsor as of the start of next season

Barcelona have announced that Qatar Airways will appear on their shirts as of next season as part of the five-year deal the club signed in 2010 with Qatar Sports Investments.

The airline’s logo will substitute in, replacing Qatar Foundation on the club’s kit as Tito Vilanova and his men try to concentrate on their on-field play and hope the shirts bring good fortune.

“Barcelona and Qatar Sports Investments announce that they have agreed, under the terms of their contract, that Qatar Airways will appear on the club shirt from the 2013-2014 season as the new main global sponsor,” said a Barcelona statement.

“The contract signed with QSI permits the possibility of including a new logo on the shirt from the third season of the agreement.”

Sandro Rosell, the Barcelona president, had his say on the deal, describing the relationship with the sponsors.

“Qatar Airways are an ambitious brand with global aspirations, always committed to achieving the utmost excellence in its field. These are objectives with which Barcelona fully identifies,” he said.

“After sharing two fantastic years with Qatar Foundation, we are delighted to be continuing our relationship by welcoming them as our official Human Development Partner.”

Catalan fans are still trying to adjust to their club carrying a sponsor on their shirts after Barca were against the idea of it and refused to do it for years, prior to the 30 million euro deal with Qatar Foundation, although they did wear the logo of charity Unicef before that.

Lionel Messi and co will wear the new shirts from the start of the 2013/14 season.